1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to a ball carrier and more specifically to a golf ball carrier. This golf ball carrier normally is mounted on the side of a golf bag. This mounting commonly is a fixed permanent type of mounting. However, this ball carrier can be mounted on belts or straps which can be employed to mount the ball carrier on a golf bag in a temporary type of mounting. This golf ball carrier also can be mounted on a hook which is placed over the lip of a golf bag in another temporary type of mounting.
2. Description of the Prior Art
This disclosure provides a rigid plastic tubular golf ball carrier which retains golf balls within the tubular carrier and which carrier normally is in a vertical position. The carrier has an open sight cut into the tubing parallel to the length of the tubing to visually determine the balls present. The carrier has a bottom coupling retaining the balls in the carrier. The bottom coupling has a bottom opening allowing for finger assisted upward movement of the bottom ball. The top coupling has a ball opening above a flexible annular ring. The golf balls can be inserted or removed from the carrier through the opening in the top coupling and can be pressed through the flexible annular ring. The flexible annular ring prevents golf balls from rolling out of the rigid plastic tubular carrier whenever the carrier is in a horizontal position.
The following patents are considered to represent the prior art on ball carriers. The listed patents comprise prior art on tennis ball, golf ball or game ball carriers.
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Date Name ______________________________________ 715,759 12/02 Crane 1,421,955 7/22 Kemp 1,572,383 2/26 Dennys 1,621,329 3/27 Malone 1,625,856 4/27 Judd 1,718,952 7/29 Fischer 1,722,134 7/29 Fredette 1,754,495 4/30 Anderson 1,778,225 10/30 Morss 2,709,027 5/55 Kozub 2,779,578 1/57 Corey 2,791,255 5/57 Ogden 2,950,748 8/60 Olinghouse 3,756,299 9/73 Simmons et al. 3,777,933 12/73 Joliot 4,042,156 8/77 Knight 4,088,251 5/78 Rodriguez 4,106,678 8/78 Thomas 4,256,244 3/81 Gasper 4,296,874 10/81 Evans 4,416,404 11/83 Daniels ______________________________________
Of the above patents, the only patents disclosing an elastic or resilient annular ring to allow ball entry were U.S. Pat. No. 1,778,225 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,088,251. However, U.S. Pat. No. 4,416,404 uses elastic strips to form gathers in a textile material tube, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,296,874 employs an elastic slot at the bottom of a tubular holder.
While U.S. Pat. No. 4,088,251 mentions a resilient inner projection of smaller diameter than conventional tennis balls, it is utilized only to pick up tennis balls and not to remove them. Its construction appears to be either a projection from the main tube or an additional piece of resilient material such as rubber. The ability to partially compress the walls of the tennis ball seems important to the functioning of this pickup system. Tennis balls are said to snap through the opening.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,778,225 possesses elastic annular rings to add or remove golf balls at the top or bottom of a tubular container with flexible walls. The flexible walls are important since they are employed to eject the golf balls by partially collapsing the flexible tube walls. The flexible tube is distinct from the rigid plastic tubing of this disclosure. In U.S. Pat. No. 1,778,225 the flexible annular flanges are secured to the ring shaped members at the ends of the tubular holder and are integral with the ring shaped members.
In the rigid plastic tubular construction of this disclosure, the flexible annular ring is free to move and flex within its rigid plastic constraining groove. The present invention provides for use of more than one flexible annular ring. Thus, the annular rings may be dimensioned for use of British or U.S.G.A. regulation golf balls. The movement of the flexible annular ring within the constraining groove of this disclosure allows for easy entry or withdrawal of the golf balls, while providing for their sure retention in the carrier whenever it is placed in a horizontal position. The sight opening and the openings at the top and bottom couplings allow for viewing the balls and for ease of movement of the balls in the carrier of this invention by direct finger manipulation of the contained balls in contrast to the flexible tubular walls of U.S. Pat. No. 1,778,225 which must be manipulated to indirectly move and remove unseen golf balls.
The flexible annular ring may be removed and replaced with an annular ring of the dimensions for the golf balls employed by moving the flexible annular ring with the fingers operating through the sight opening and the top coupling aperture. Folding of the ring allows it to be withdrawn or added through the openings. Unfolding the ring while positioning it on its support groove completes its installation.